Being Accountable Feeling Guilty

1
(No Transcript)
2

• Theres a line between being accountable and
  feeling guilty. Sometimes it can be easy to see
  but sometimes it just isnt as clear. In the
  years Ive spent growing my business, Ive
  learned that a big chunk of successful
  entrepreneurship is just hard work. But lately,
  Ive been overloaded.
• Hard times teach us what were made of and Ive
  learned some important things about myself during
  this productivity lull. In trying to be honest
  with myself, Ive discovered some important
  nuances that separate being accountable and
  feeling guilty.
• Being Accountable
• One of the tenets of any coaching I give or
  speaking engagements I do is taking ownership.
  Ultimately, you have control over your life. All
  of your decisions and actions belong to you.
  Things we cant control happen throughout life
  but we can control how we react to them. I didnt
  ask for everything that life has pitched my way
  but I take responsibility for it and own the
  decisions I made that got me there.
• Keeping a victim mentality is costly. In my case,
  in being a victim I would have to focus on the
  negative consequences of all the things I
  wanteda high-paying job, a wonderful wife, a new
  life in my family, and a business that helps
  other people succeed. How ungrateful would that
  be? I would never have attained any of my current
  circumstances if I had not accepted my role in
  the failures and struggles I had gone through.
• In the past several months, Ive dealt with
  overbearing clients at work, sickness and disease
  in my family, a business that hasnt gotten the
  attention it deserves, water damage in my home,
  and a spike in personal/business expenses. It has
  been one blow after another but it was something
  that I had to take responsibility for andmore
  importantlyI needed to act in order to keep the
  situation from getting out of control. Being
  accountable to myself had me keeping closer track
  of what I was doing with my hours. I found ways
  to keep my dream reality alive without all the
  stress. Being accountable is something that helps
  you manage your workload, over short and long
  terms.

3

• However, a deeper look into my feelings showed
  that in my attempt at becoming accountable, I was
  actually feeling guilty.
• Feeling Guilty
• A lack of accountability produces a victim
  mentality. Guilt, on the other hand, produces
  something entirely different. Unfortunately, the
  more I thought about how I was acting, the more I
  started feeling guilty about it. In
  overcommitting, I felt like I wasnt performing
  to my highest standard. But then there are so
  many other problems, like hurricanes or wildfires
  or the Las Vegas shooting. I wasnt entitled to
  feel bad when I was so much better offbut that
  thought only made me feel worse!
• I had to stop and put the negativity on pause.
  What was I feeling guilty about? Things are
  always worse for someone else. And I had still
  managed to maintain most everything. I was
  putting energy into being better. The bad
  thoughts and feelings werent helping me
  succeedthey were only holding me back.
• Not that you should avoid all guiltif your
  actions hurt other people, you need to evaluate
  that and figure out how to do better. But we tend
  to put a lot of blame on our shoulders when
  really, we just need to strategize better.
  Failure is, sadly, an inevitable part of
  risk-taking. Feeling guilty about failure is just
  wasting timeyou should be using that energy to
  analyze and realistically look at the flaws of
  your plan. Being accountable for the sticking
  points is a positive step towards a better
  future.
• Source http//possessyoursuccess.com/clean-worksp
  ace-clean-thinking/